From Nightmares to Peace
by lifez-beautiful
Summary: Some people just don't grow up and some just grow up too fast... Well we have Rick here, who just won't accept that his lil' daughter has grown up enough to get married. And as usual it's all upto Kate now. EDITED! Please do read and review. Now Complete.
1. Chapter 1

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: 5/21/2012 : **Hi everybody! This was my first ever fan-fiction here and when I was recently trying to read it, I found that my grammar was thousand times worse then than it is now! So I would like to sincerely thank everyone who patiently read this the first time over for being so kind with me. I have now corrected a few mistakes, mind you my grammar is not still very praise worthy, so it still would have quite a few mistakes, but I guess, at least it is more bearable now. But anyway I apologize in advance for all the mistakes you will find. :) _

_And yes this was written around 2 years ago, but even then, it was about the distant future, which seems to have become a little less distant now... But anyway, what I'm trying to blabber here is that, that it is still relevant now; well except for a few odd old season references. So please do give it a read and tell me what you think about it. _

_All the other 'author notes' in rest of the chapters are old. I just wanted to keep it that way because of my stupid sentimentality. :)_

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE: 8/29/10**

Here is my first Castle story or to say first ever fanfiction here.

**Warning**: This story contains graphic description of a crime scene.

It turns a bit sappy towards the end...but hey who says a little bit of sweetness is offensive? ;D Anyways Happy reading! :)

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own CASTLE or any of its characters. Any resemblance of a character to a person, dead or alive is purely co-incidental. This is just for pure creative fun. No copyright infringement intended.

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He is running wildly; all that is visible is thick black smoke. His eyes are watering due to the intensity of it and he is coughing vigorously. He is searching for something...something more precious than life itself. And even though the explosions have still not subsided in the another part of the area, he seems unbothered by it and is still frantically searching for a sign...a sign that his precious love is still alive somewhere hidden in all that smoke.

He spots something a little far away from where he was. He runs toward it and halts suddenly. Then with a bloodcurdling shriek he collapses to the floor. He sees his life literally shattered in front of his very eyes. His hope was crushed harshly as his love lay there tattered and mutilated, covered in blood. Only thing which could identify her was her burnt clothes and her bruised but still recognizable face. It was her; his Kate...his precious Kate. And he could do nothing to save her because he couldn't bring dead back to life. He gathered her remains in his arms, crying, shouting and wailing inconsolably and no one could tell for how long. Sometime later the sirens of Police vehicles and ambulance were be heard. But not to Castle; he was lost…

He came back to reality when somebody kept a hand on his shoulder and patted. But he didn't even bother to acknowledge that. But later due to the continuous bothering he shouted back at that person in fury without even moving his eyes from the body that lay in his arms. Then he heard the voice from behind uttering few things vaguely. It was a lady's voice, trying to say something about clearing the dead body, evidence, crime scene and loads of other crap which he did not care a damn about. All he was bothered about was that his Kate was with him...no matter how she was looked at the moment, she was his and nobody was going to disturb their moment.

The people around seemed worried. The vision was still obscured due to smoke. The CSI were trying their best to collect any possible evidence that was not charred badly. And the paramedics and NYPD people were sifting the place for anyone alive. And there on the other hand the NYPD bomb squad was on its trail to see if any other bombs still existed. This is when they spotted Castle, crouching over what seemed like remains of the former Det. Kate Beckett, as someone from the search team identified them. Everyone was shocked...for it seemed unwatchable. They had found a severely wounded Esposito and Ryan too somewhere far. Mostly everyone was thrown off due to the powerful blast.

He was still holding her. But now was also uttering something insane... He was saying something like, " I'm sorry dear. It's entirely my fault. I should have been with you. I should have never left you. I went out to get something to eat and I did not know that just then you got the call about the anonymous killer's whereabouts and by the time I returned, captain told me you all had left. And then I knew I was too late when I heard the blasts, one after another as I was coming here. But you know what? I still hoped to see you alive Kate. But as always I turned out to be unlucky... Kate, Kate will you please wake up for me... Please Kate...please…" He kept saying that repeatedly and started kissing her all over her face, sobbing all the while.

Some voices were disturbing him again. He wanted to shout at all of them to go away. He thought why people were so heartless that they won't even let him to cry in peace. He wanted to kill whoever was disturbing him and for God's sake, he was with his Kate for the moment and no one... utterly no one had a right to disturb him at that moment!

But then suddenly he heard a beautiful voice...his Kate's voice. He was baffled. She was calling his name! He was overjoyed. But nothing seemed to make sense. But he surely did not care, it was what he wanted the most... for her to be alive and speak to him once more. He hugged her tightly and she hugged him back.

But somewhere in the back, the voice that was disturbing him still persisted so he decided to turn back and give them a piece of his mind. But the moment he turned back, no one was there. He was terribly annoyed at whoever the hell that person was but decided that was not important now and turned back to his Kate. But alas! She was gone! He suddenly felt as if he was falling into an abyss...far far away from everything he ever loved. He shouted "Kate… Kate!" Again and again he couldn't hear anything. But after sometime he heard her voice again…but this time very clearly. And suddenly something cold fell on him. He didn't recognize it until he felt wet and he opened his eyes!

There she was, giving that divinely naughty smile of hers...his darling Kate. She was fully dressed to go and was towering in front of him with an empty glass of what was presumably the cold water which she moments ago emptied on him! Her smile changed to a giggle watching his amused and shocked reaction! She then made a mock angry face and said, "Hmm Mr. Castle...is it not yet morning for you? Do you know what the time is? Your darling daughter has already chided me for not waking you up on time and now if we miss the flight it is me on whom she is going to blame that on and I'm having none of it! So you better get up and get ready, Now!"

She barked out with a mock angry tone. She then bent down to pull him out of the bed but instead he managed to pull her onto him and hug her tightly. She at first tries to escape thinking it is one of his early morning romantic escapades but when his body tightens tensely and his breathing becomes slightly laboured around her, she sensed that something was wrong. She then gently and cautiously asked, "What is wrong dear?" And Castle suddenly starts to sob into her shoulder. Gently allowing his tears to fall on her, she kept rubbing his back. She then holds him for a moment before she moves away, hands now on his arms, she looks into his face. And when she sees tears in those deep blue eyes, unknowingly her eyes too started to blur with tears. He look worried. She asked again after wiping off his tears "What's wrong Rick? Aren't you fine? Is something hurting or was it a nightmare?" she asked in the same tone as she would to a child, filled with both concern and love.

He simply nodded and hugged her again whispering into her ears, " Kate, I'm so glad you are alive and next to me. Please Kate, promise me you will never leave me alone. Kate... I will die without you. If I'm not dead after you aren't there that would be only because I would have gone too insane and would be believing that you were still alive..." Saying those words he hugged her even more tightly.

She was touched by his words; not that she didn't know how much he loved her, but the magnitude of that love, always seemed to surprise her, every time he professed. She smiled into his shoulder and whispered into his ears, " I will never leave you Rick...Never!" And suddenly her voice changed into more teasing tone and continued, "I can never do that to the world Rick. I can't leave them alone with you... Without me being there to keep you on a leash, you would wreak hell on it!" And she giggled. Later she felt his lips curving into an enchanting smile. He moved back looked at her and did something that had her in fits of mirthful laughter... He put his tongue out and panted and by showing an imaginary leash on his neck which he gave it to her and said, "Never ever leave me... I love you Boss! And yeah...I'm going to follow you to wherever you go...forever like a faithful puppy. So you can never escape from me!" And came close and licked her cheek! She rolled her eyes but was still amused and laughing when he suddenly eyed her lips intensely just before he dived in and she responded with the same fervor.

Then just after few minutes into their deep sea diving escapade, there came a sharp knock on the door. A voice on the other end said, "Mama... Is daddy awake yet? Willy and I are waiting here fully read to leave, for like forever! Mama... we are going to miss our flight! And you know none of us want that! Please wake up dad, will you? "

They then suddenly broke their kiss and were sadly pulled back to the real world... Their fantastic real world… the world of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Castle and their 3 children; Natasha [Natie] , William [Willy] and of course Alexis.

They both got up and Rick hurried into the bathroom. Later Kate opened the door and assured Natie that her dad was awake and will be ready in few minutes. True to her word he was ready in 10 minutes and the happy family left to the airport.

They were going to meet Alexis in Washington. It was her birthday today and they were going to her surprise party organized by Jack; Jackson Keats- Alexis' now long time boyfriend. Martha and Chet would arrive there too. Jack was going to propose to Alexis and he wanted to do that in front of everybody who mattered to her.

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Ahh well if the 'nightmare' part didn't make much sense it was because nightmares seldom do! ;) hehe But I hope, the rest of the chapter made some sense at least. :)

Anyway, I hope you guys liked the first chapter. I guess two or three more to go. Actually I intended it to be a small One shot but then I ended up writing a little too much and it became one over-grown Oneshot! So anyways, I hope it's a bearable read. Thank you for your patience. Please do R & R...


	2. Surprise party!

**AUTHORS NOTE**: Hello everybody! I'm back with a new chapter... a happier one hopefully! Sorry for any mistakes you will find. I have tried my best to minimize them. And yeah, please don't forget to leave your reviews. Happy reading! :D

Beckett NYPD: Thanks a lot for your review. Hope you will enjoy this chapter more...

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They were going to meet Alexis in Washington. It was her birthday today and they were going to her surprise party organized by Jack (Jackson Keats);Alexis' long time boyfriend. Martha and Chet would arrive there too. Jack was going to propose to Alexis and he wanted to do that in front of everybody who mattered to her.

It was evening when everybody reached the place and checked in to their Hotel. As soon as they arrived, Kate had called Jack to inform that they have arrived and that they will be there at their house by 7.30 PM. It was always Kate who had coordinated with Jack, as Castle never seemed to like Jack, whenever his name came up it was always followed by a frown on his face. Kate had tried to ask the reason being his dislike but he almost always managed to change the topic with his witty one liner. But Kate was no ordinary woman; she knew a bit human psychology too to know that it was the ever loving Dad in him who was afraid to forego his daughter to somebody else...to share his loved one with a stranger...to accept that his little girl was grownup enough to get married… And the worst of all fears that he; her dad would not be her hero anymore. It was sad and childish...that is how parental love always was.

At sharp 7.30 PM the whole Castle family arrived surprisingly on time for the first time! Natie was the time keeper that day. If Kate was punctual and proper, Natie was one step ahead of her. And it was Rick who always ended up getting scolding for his irregularity from his 9 year old daughter most of the times, to Kate's amusement. But she still was her father's pet nevertheless.

Willy was mama's boy for whom the Castle surname suited best. At 7yrs, he was already a charmer and had a way with words. He had something charming to say to every person and sneak out without punishment out of every situation, in typical Castle style! The next notorious Castle... WILLIAM CASTLE!

…

The apartment which Jack and Alexis shared was pretty decent and was located in a nice locality of which Castle approved. He was weighing the credibility of the guy his daughter chose unwittingly in every single thing he saw or heard around him; he was plainly judging him.

When they entered, Jack had tied a scarf to Alexis' eyes and every one shouted "surprise!" to her. They had called Jack as soon as they arrived at the door and he had informed that Alexis was getting ready in her room and that Martha and Chet too are waiting outside the door. So as soon as everybody met outside the door, Jack ushered them in and told them that he would close her eyes and bring her out. The room was esthetically decorated with beautiful flowers and cards. Not much, but pretty decent thinking that he had to do this when Alexis was getting ready and did not have much time to decorate a house for the party. But going by the taste... Alexis would clearly approve of it. After all she was one of the youngest teachers in the famous university and also had a classic style to her repute.

Alexis opened her eyes and found her entire family in front of her. Her emotions were so overwhelming that she was in tears in matter of seconds. Before anyone could know, she was in the arms of her beloved daddy! And was later joined by the group hug initiated by Danny, her pet brother and Natie; one of her best-est buddy. Even though she was only 9 years old... She was almost like Alexis, ahead of her age. The sisters always kept in constant touch with all their modern conversational modes which Martha would often mock off playfully. Kate was always her mentor, her idol and her mother figure. And together they were one big happy family.

Jack stood a little away to allow them happy family reunion. Kate asked him to join in too in the group hug, to which Rick suddenly broke the hug and said innocently "OMG! Don't choke my little gal on her birth day all of you guys!" in his usual witty tone. All laughed and straightened themselves. No one had noticed the odd way he had done it just before Jack joined into the hug...except Kate that is.

Now the party had begun officially and few other friends of Jack and Alexis too trickled in slowly, not many, just 6 or so people. House seemed bustling with enthusiasm as everyone was excited to meet Castle, the famous novelist. Especially few of Jack's friends who didn't know Alexis was his daughter. On the whole the event was quite a huge success.

Rick and Kate had gifted their daughter with a beautiful pearl and diamond jewellery set and Natie had gifted her a beautiful pen. Martha and Chet gave her, her favorite box of chocolates and a beautiful dress which Martha had found a few days ago whilst she was shopping and had thought about Alexis immediately. Everyone else gave flowers and other gifts but Willy not knowing what to give his darling sister, gave her a huge hug! Which Alexis told sweetly was the most precious of all the gifts she received that day. She really loved her little brother.

While everyone was busy with the food, Alexis' eyes were darting towards only one person and those grayish blue eyes were loaded with a hundred questions. Jack hadn't given her her birthday gift yet. True that arranging this surprise party and bringing her family there was equal to any wonderful gift she could ever receive, she knew there was something else, something even more important… she could see it in his eyes. But Jack was just standing there helping the guests and was being as gracious as a host, he can be.

Kate had already wished him luck for what was coming and now the time had finally come…

Jack came next to Alexis; she nudged him sideways on his arms whispering," now where is my gift? You know I'm dying to see what it is!" He serenely smiled at that and instead of answering her, he suddenly clanked a nearby wine glass with a spoon to garner everybody's attention. Soon everybody gathered around them and everybody seemed to have a clue what is about to come except Alexis who suddenly seemed tensed. The smile on everybody's face scared her. She was scared of the unknown. But the fear was unwarranted and of course short lived as suddenly Jack took her fine hands in his , knelt down and looked up to her with those chocolate brown eyes filled with love and hope for their bright future ahead and said, " Alexis, sweetheart…for the past 4 years we have known each other , every night, I remember I have thanked God for gifting me You. I don't seem to have the capability of imagine a life without you and I never want to too. So if you will be gracious enough to bear with me for rest of your life, then I would like to humbly ask you to trust me with your hand in marriage so that I can breathe every second of my life in your arms till the very end and hold you tightly for eternity...?" With this, there was a thunderous applause in the small room, tears filled in most of the eyes there and few were freely flowing from Alexis's, Kate's, Natie's and Martha's eyes. Few had those tears hidden, like Danny; he sure wanted to be like his dad; the 'Never let a girl see your tears' type.

Jack, whose eyes were glistening with emotion and had almost choked on his final words. And of course there was Rick who somehow even though wanted to disapprove, was immensely moved by the way the boy had so sincerely proposed to spend the rest of his life with his daughter. He hated to admit it and well would never admit too that Jack's sincerity had touched him...it seemed GENUINE.

Alexis was overwhelmed. She seriously hadn't guessed the surprise gift would be a precious solitaire; no, not because of the phase value of the stone... never that; but because of the heart value of it. And that's why it was indeed priceless. She happily whispered a 'yes' and she so desperately wanted to say more but nothing came out of her mouth… seemed her tongue was tied. She nodded and he gracefully slid the stone onto her slender fingers and she hugged him fiercely. Soon the party was resumed with renewed fervor and everyone took turns to congratulate the couple. It was later followed by a dance which ofcourse was started by the couple of the day; Alexis and Jack.

Alexis had been too busy to notice that her dad still hadn't congratulated her and she didn't find anything odd in his behaviour, as she was submerged in her own sea of happiness then. She knew nothing of the emotional distress her dad was undergoing…but Kate knew. She knew he had avoided that on purpose and was going to tell her husband that it just was not done and that he can't just run away from reality. He has to face it and face it soon enough! She searched for him and found him standing in the balcony staring towards the moon.

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Okay, just one more chapter to go. :) Please leave your reviews, would really love to read them. :)


	3. New beginning

**Authors note:** Well, here is the last part. Hope you all like it. It might be a little too sweet, so beware. :))

_Beckett NYPD:_ glad you liked it! :) Thanks the review... hope u like the ending too!

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own CASTLE or any of its characters. This is just for pure creative fun. No copyright infringement intended.

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Alexis had been too busy to notice that her dad still hadn't congratulated her and she didn't find anything odd in his behaviour, as she was submerged in her own sea of happiness then. She knew nothing of the emotional distress her dad was undergoing…but Kate knew. She knew he had avoided that on purpose and was going to tell her husband that it just was not done and that he can't just run away from reality. He has to face it and face it soon enough! She searched for him and found him standing in the balcony staring towards the moon.

Rick had been standing there for quite some time now. When he heard the proposal, he felt overwhelmed and had immediately sneaked out from the crowd to his current place. He couldn't stand seeing his little daughter kissing someone and agreeing to spend the rest of her life with someone else. He had always been sad when she had left for college...but due to Kate's great convincing power, he had agreed upon not to sit and brood about it and had let his daughter live her life the way she wanted. Same followed the day when she had decided to live in with Jack. But now this was permanent; it was marriage...it was sacred and it was for life. He would lose his daughter for life this time. All these thoughts were running through his mind when he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. He shrugged knowing what was going to ensue.

She spoke as she rested her head onto his shoulder and sliding one arm across his back to reach his other. He simply tilted his head to touch hers and kissed gently on her forehead acknowledging her presence. And they both continued to stare at the moon together in complete silence for some time. They were almost hidden from the rest of the party as they were behind the curtains that looked over the balcony. So in their moment of silence, Kate started by saying, "You know, you must let go sometime... Don't you?" There was no response from his side. So she slightly pressed a kiss onto his shoulder and continued, "Rick, I know how much you adore her... I know for you she is still your little darling who used to spend most of her time with you at home, discusses how she spent each day in detail in the evenings with you…and for whom going out always meant an outing with you…her dear dad. But darling, things do change. Time can't be withheld how much ever we wish to do so... It just passes by... You must accept that your little girl has grown up enough to raise a family of her own, now. She is established in her career, and I'm sure she will reach more heights for which she is working even more harder now. She has always been wise...even enough for me to think that you must had kidnapped her from some very intelligent parents.". She said that with a chuckle and had got one in response too. And she continued, "You just have to trust that she is wise enough to decide what is good for her. You have to give her that right dear. Till now she has been right in every decision she made and now let's hope and pray that even this too would turn out just the way wants it to be and just the way she is... Perfect…"

He smiled on hearing those words... a smile of a proud father. But still a bit of sadness was lingering somewhere in those deep blue oceans that were his eyes. So she turned to face him and immediately spotted the reason on his face. She said, "Rick she won't forget you... She can never forget you. No matter where a daughter goes, I'm sure at heart every girl is still her daddy's little girl at heart. And hey, I'm talking from experience. Now nothing can beat that! Can it?" She said cheerfully, in an attempt to cheer him up. And thankfully his face brightened... She had a valid point there; his Kate was a daughter too to her dad and she had always been a dutiful daughter, never missed an occasion where she could be with him at their house or even better, invite him home. Rick and her dad had a very pleasant relationship; every time they visited her home, the two men would go out to the country side walking and sometimes even fishing but no drinking though, for which of course Kate was grateful for. Kids loved their grand dad and even Alexis were very fond of him. He couldn't come there that night as he had an unavoidable meeting back home, but he had thoughtfully sent her a greeting card and a gift though because just in a typical grand dad style, he never forgot his grandchild's birthday gifts!

Rick seemed to be coming to terms with the situation. But he being himself was still reluctant to accept that Jack was the perfect groom for his Alexis so he started, "You know what, Kate? You are right. It is time I let go of her… Coz I'm sure she will always be my sweetheart daughter at heart." He smiled charmingly, the usual smile which lighted up his eyes like they were 1000 watts in them! His smile was infective so it was returned by an equally smashing smile from her side and a bonus hug too! For then he smirked and added... "But you know what... I still think that guy is a just pass... she can get a lot better!" he said that with a cocky smile. She responded with a reaction and said, "Rick Castle! you are jus UN believable! Just when we believe you have mellowed down and like a mature adult have accepted defeat, here you bounces back to square one!" She almost laughed… But then instead gave him a challenging look and added, "so you think you can get her a better guy, is it so?" He now had started to like this conversation. "Hmm... Well yes of course! He is nothing... I would have found her a more smart, rich and not to mention ruggedly handsome guy, just like me! But err only a little more decent and responsible…" He said with a genuine sincerity towards the end, when he had told about the guy being more decent and responsible than him. A small guilt feeling had cropped into him wondering what Kate's father had to undergo when she had decided to marry him. Because Kate being Kate; she could have got so much of a better guy than him.

Kate as always could read his mind as she had noticed the change in his tone when he added those last few qualifications of the fictional perfect guy for Alexis. She just gave him a hug and said, "I couldn't have found anyone better, dear. And I know my dad is more than happy that I found you because you are the only one who could make me look as stupid as this with an insane glee on my face just with your presence!" She smiled and his eyes conveyed his emotions, which read that he is so grateful to her for just allowing him to be part of her life...for being the love of his life. And she thinking that this was the right time to send home her point added, "Just like the glee you see on her face now, which only the guy beside her can bring." He turned in the direction which she was facing to look at whom she was talking about and he found Alexis standing next to Jack, who was enthusiastically playing with Willy and at the same time trying to manage Natie from ripping of her bro's head off for bugging everyone to the core!

Castle almost laughed... But he suddenly realized that his second daughter was going to be one hell of a dangerous version of his Kate! His little girl...the thought shuddered him, that in few years she too leave him... But then his sight again shifted onto Alexis's face. He could understand what Kate meant about that 'insane glee' which only madness of love can trigger. Kate was right; there is no way he could ever manage to get a guy who would make her as happy as how she now was, no matter how much ever he tried.

And he finally had to accept that his daughter had made the perfect choice. She always had made the perfect choices…after all she had admired, loved and accepted Kate from the very beginning, now what can be more right choice than that? He smiled at the thought and turned to look at his Kate... She was smiling at her daughters and son and their stupid antics.

The tough NYPD cop during the day and the soft as fluff, mother and wonderful wife during the night, the transformation was as smooth as changing of day into night, for her. He had always been right about her... She truly was EXTRAORDINARY.

He gently pulled her into an embrace and then kissed her forehead. She somehow understood that he has accepted his new would-be son-in-law. She was always content with her small but happy family which now apparently included a sweet son-in-law too. Life seemed perfect, especially in the arms of her love. And it just became even better, when he whispered, "I have thought of a surprise for our tenth anniversary. I m sure you are going love it! That guy surely inspired me with his surprise. I guess we can get along, after all, hmm." Smiling he pressed his lips on hers and all she could manage in between was heartfelt , " I love you Rick..." before she dwelled into his lips again.

_**A new beginning...**_

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_**Well, hope you guys liked the ending! Anyways, as always I would luv to read your reviews; so please do take a minute to write.**_

PS: Anyaa, Thank you for liking the idea. I will surely try harder to improve. :)


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